Examples of DOUBLE PAGE SPREADs

NME

'Q' MAGAZINE

The double page spreads within NME and Q follow the similar conventions, as the photos take the most of the place and they are the main focal points. On both double spreads the colours are limited, as the main focus is on the images. In NME the headline says the name of the band, and in Q the headline's name is straight related to the topic of the article. On both we have got strap line, page numbering and short description of the photograph. On NME double page spread there is a use of quotes.

Examples of CONTENTS PAGES

NME - New Musical Express

'Q' MAGAZINE

The same as the front covers, the contents pages of those two magazines apply the well established conventions.

'Q' contents pages are very clear and universal, they are easy to read - we can easily pick up the main features of the issue. It is conventional that they include page numbering to every headline, they also include pictures and the 'print screens' of some pages to attract to those particular articles by a visual appeal. The colour are limited, the same as it was done on the front cover. The magazine's coverage is divided into two pages, one with special features and one withe the regulars. The layout is well balanced to draw our attention mainly to the photos.

NME's contents page is much more hectic than 'Q' ones, and it draws our focus mainly to the special features. There are no regulars, however on the left there is a list of bands with the page numbering - as NME focuses on bands. Different to 'Q' NME includes two adverts, one about subscription and one about NME awards. However it also includes the 'print screens' of the double spreads, I believe that is one of the conventions within the contents pages.

Research on different music magazines

At the begging of the main task I will look at the music magazine's industry. I will compare some of the magazines and analyse them through the key media concepts. This research should help me to come up with an idea for my own music magazine and I hope it will also clarify my understanding of how we can use the media conventions within music magazines.

To do my analysis I chose ‘NME’ and ‘Q’ magazines, as they have different publishers and are aimed at a bit different audiences.

NME - New Music Express
Language - The visual language of ‘NME’ is created in a way to attract younger and prospering audience. Front page is built of many features and is always busy and a bit hectic. The used fonts are san-serif, as it is a modern magazine. The masthead is generally in the biggest font size out of all the text, however sometimes the main headline may be bigger than the masthead, as the editors want to attract the audience by this particular article/band (as we can see in the used example, the name of the band stands out of all the text). The next convention used in NME, as well as it is used in Q, is that the masthead is positioned in the upper-left corner. The colours used in NME are very bold. There is also a use of primary colour, as in the posted front cover we can see red and yellow. The use of colours is restricted up to four colours: which are red, yellow, white and black, and the main image (picture of The Gossip) follows this colour scheme. All theses features create this rather strong image, however it is still very much universal and may approach a wide audience. While on the contrary to NME, "Q" uses more 'peaceful' and 'mild' colours, as the magazine is targeted at more adult audience.
Institution – ‘NME’ is published by IPC Media, which is one of the UK’s leading consumer magazine and digital publisher. http://www.ipcmedia.com/about/
Ideology – ‘The NME is the longest published and most respected music weekly in the world. Every week it gives its readers the most exciting, most authoritative coverage of the very best in contemporary music.’ ( text taken from IPC’s website) The ideology standing behind NME is to inform its audience about recent happenings and events, mostly within indie and rock music. Through the range of good articles, interviews and short press notes it conveys and at the same time promotes the particular music genre. NME's coverage is done in an intellectual and funny way in order to entertain its readers, as from the early years of the paper's existence it has been focusing on the best quality journalism.

[Alan Smith was made editor and the paper's coverage changed radically from an uncritical and rather reverential showbiz-oriented paper to something intended to be smarter, hipper, more cynical and funnier than any mainstream British music paper had previously been (an approach influenced mainly by writers such as Tom Wolfe and Lester Bangs). In order to achieve this, Smith raided the underground press for its best writers, such as Charles Shaar Murray and Nick Kent, and recruited other writers such as Tony Tyler and Ian MacDonald. - taken from the Wikipedia]
What makes the NME stand out of other music magazines is that it has got direct influence in new music. NME has helped to break bands including The Strokes, The Vines, The Libertines and The White Stripes and still helps to promote successful newcomers. We may even say it tries to shape its readers' tastes, for example the main part of the first issue in 2009 coverage is about ten new bands/artists, which according to NME, are a "new noise" of 2009. Another thing which makes NME unusual is the fact it tries to seem like it goes against mainstream, e.g. by giving vinyl as a free gift, or as I have written before; by being one step ahead one step ahead of mainstream popular chart music; setting the path of music trends.

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX9GMBGziAHvMD5mADzRslBRVEJJ7zUfWbGvQD75eTM0WEhyphenhyphenhOnGNzPOpPU3RzDo1SwbLZcpKQbwPenZqDSl67f_FRsfcFdH4X-TRmSBPDGH5BVMF544DNyb1oSnVJ1JkQq3sUytmSrFMp/s1600-h/NME+content.jpg
Audience - READER PROFILE
MALE 69%
FEMALE 31%
AVERAGE AGE 24
WORKING FULL TIME 52%
WORKING PART TIME 7%
STILL STUDYING 29%
ABC1 65%
CIRCULATION: 56,284
READERSHIP: 369,000

The link to the media pack where is more information on the NMS's audience:

http://www.ipcmedia.com/mediainfo/nme.pdf

(The sources which the information was taken from are from the research done between years 2006 and 2008, so they are mostly up to date.)
Representation - The way in which different social groups are represented within the magazine is very much essential, when it comes to reach the audience. Representation is mainly showed through the photographs. In NME usually the front cover photos are done in a studio and they appear being really professional. While on the other hand, the photos inside the magazine look very natural; as they have been shot on the spot (even when it is a professional photo shooting, they try to keep this natural appearance); there are loads of pictures from live events and gigs, as it is something what would draw the reader's attention. The photos features artists from the genres of music, which NME is related to: indie, rock and pop. Even though NME does not feature articles about politics, it tries to show its rebelliousness by featuring artists whose lifestyles counter social norms: e.g. Pete Dougherty or Amy Winehouse.

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'Q' MAGAZINE

Language - As I have written before, 'Q' follows the convention of placing the masthead in the right-upper corner. Comparing its visual appearance with NME, the covers are minimalistic, what makes them much more classy and sophisticated than NME's covers are. The front covers feature the great quality photos (always done in a studio), which are iconic for 'Q' - [Modelled after Rolling Stone, Q was first published in 1986, setting itself apart from much of the other music press with monthly production and higher standards of photography and printing. - taken from Wikipedia] Furthermore, there is not much writing, as the main focus is upon the photos. The writing is mostly in a san-serif font type, as it adds the modern look. For example in the posted front cover, which features Lily Allen; the san-serif font is used within the main headlines, and the serif font is used within sub-headlines. The limited colour scheme also contributes to this higher quality feeling, which we get from 'Q'. The professional appearance of 'Q' is likely to attract people of higher economic model.

Institution – ‘Q’ is published by ‘Bauer Media’, which is a division of the Bauer Publishing Group, Europe’s largest privately owned publishing Group. The Bauer Publishing Group is a worldwide media empire offering over 230 magazines in 15 countries, as well as online, TV and radio stations.
http://www.bauermedia.co.uk/About-Bauer-Media/

Ideology - “Since launch in 1986, Q has been the UK’s best selling music monthly magazine. With its unrivalled access it has delivered the world’s biggest music stars every month. Seeing life through the lens of music, it draws references from the world of sport, comedy, film and even politics.” – taken from the Bauer Media website.
The foundations of ‘Q’ – “Founders Mark Ellen and David Hepworth were dismayed by the music press of the time, which they felt was ignoring a generation of older music buyers who were buying CDs — then still a new technology — from artists such as Paul Simon, Level 42, and Dire Straits.” – taken from Wikipedia
The ideology of ‘Q’ is similar to NME’s, as they inform its audience about recent happenings within the new music world, and at the same time they try to entertain its readers. The things which make it different to NME are: the larger coverage (even despite the fact it is a monthly magazine and NME is a weekly one, ‘Q’ features articles about politics, music industry as itself, sport, film and many more things which are related to media mass culture) and the fact that it does not promote new bands or artists, as ‘NME’ does.
Audience – “ Open minded experience seekers, the Q audience don’t define themselves by the music they listen to. Music is an important passion, but their love of music will never be to the detriment of their other passions, such as film, sport and comedy.” – readers profile taken from the Bauer Media website .
http://www.bauermedia.co.uk/Brands/Q/

‘Q’ coverage is more extended than NME’s one and it includes different topics, so it may reach wider audience. As we can read from the readers profile - open minded experience seekers – it appears that ‘Q’ older audience, even that have got already established music tastes, is not afraid of trying new things. Also the fact that 'Q' coverage includes more ‘classic’ and well established bands, may draw this particulars audience.
Representation – On its front covers, ‘Q’ features artists and bands which are well established within the music industry. What makes the magazine unique are the great quality photos and the magazine’s high quality appearance, which is essential, when reaching the audience of higher economic model.

Foundation Portfolio - Main Task

Designing your own music magazine

For the main task we have been asked to create a new music magazine. The magazine will have to include :

• the front page
• the contest page
• and the double page spread

All images and text used must be original, produced by me. The magazine will have to include minimum of four original images.

The deadline for this task is by the end of January.

Foundation Portfolio Evaluation

· In what ways does your Media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

On the front cover of my college magazine, I have included all the needed forms of real media product :
the masthead – the use of a bold and san-serif font makes the masthead looks fresh and modern, it has got also the biggest font size, so it stands out of all the text.
What is more, I have used the deep blue colour which every Wyke’s student is familiar to (college hoodies are blue) and in the background I have put the photograph of ASH building. Summarising, while creating the masthead I have used the convention which states that masthead should be in the biggest font size from all the text. I have also tried to use appropriate colour schemes.
the main headline – is also written in a bold, san-serif font, so it draws our attention. The colours used for this headline harmonise with the photograph image, and connote that the main topic may be related to football (black and orange – the colours of Hull F.C.)
the plug – consisted of two pictures and two headlines, , introduces the viewers to the other articles in the magazine
the strapline - gives the extra information about the magazine’s contest

· How does your Media product represent particular social groups?

The social group which is represented in my magazine is students. I have done this by using particular photo images, which I have taken by myself and then edited. Also the magazine’s layout gives us the feeling of modern school environment. For the front cover I have used three photographs. The main image presents two female students who play football for Wyke. As I already wrote in the post before, I think it was a good idea to include them on the cover, because their success represents the college values: achievement and equality (in this case gender equality – showing that girls can play football too J ) What is more, while taking the pictures I have tried to show everyone as relaxed and happy to being a part of Wyke’s community.

· What kind of Media institution might distribute your media product and why?

The institution which might distribute my media product, would be the Wyke College, as the magazine is aimed at its student.

· Who would be the audience for your Media product?

The audience for my media product would be the students of the Wyke College. It would be also intended for the college staff and for the students from local high schools, who may think about coming to the Wyke College.

· How did you attract/address your audience?

I think my magazine is addressed to every student in the college. I attracted my audience, by making the main article an interview with college ‘stars’. I believe most of the college students like to know what are the other people opinions and they are also very open-minded, so they could find interesting reading this interview. What is more by using colours of the Hull F.C. in the main headline, I have probably drew an attention of some football fans. The main image is very bright and the main headline is more eye-catching than the masthead. The next thing which might attract my audience were the photos from Halloween Wyke Party and the strapline, which reads ‘Which Uni to choose – helpful tips for 2nd year students.’

· What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

From the process of constructing this media product I have learnt that it is very important to have a good quality photos. Mine main image was a bit blurry and I couldn’t edit it or even change, because it was I already the second re-shooting. What is also important, is to make a clear draft and have the exact ideas how we want our magazine to look like and what resources are we going to use. Frome the Photoshop workshop which we had once during the weeks of creating our magazine, I have learnt how to use the clone stamp tool.

· Looking back at the preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

I think while working on this preliminary task, I have become aware of the media conventions which are essential to create any kind of magazine. It is amazing, in how many way we can attract our audience: text, colour schemes, eye-catching image etc. To use these thing properly and effectively we have to be aware of the conventions and also have some designing skill, which we are working on now by using Photoshop.

Front cover and contest page of a new college magazine

Draft of new collage magazie

Masthead
This is a draft of a new college magazine. I am going to call it "WhY?KE", because I like the play between words 'Why' and 'Wyke'. I also think this name will reflect well the magazine's profile - students are known for asking questions and being curious about different things and college (teachers, staff) and its magazine want to give them the answers. The masthead is going to be written in bold and sanserif font, which creates young and fresh feeling. Under the masthead I'll put the sub-masthead, which reads "The Wyke College Magazine".

Headlines
My magazine is going to be a general college magazine. Because of its name I'll write the main headline as a question. The sub-headline would explain further what the main article is going be about. On this front cover I will also include some other headlines.

Image
The image I have chosen to put on the front page is going to be a medium close-up photograph. It will present two of my school friends who play football for college female team. I think it is a good idea choosing them, because they represent values which I want to include in my magazine. Reading about their success may be inspiring for the college students and it may lead them to be more active and involved within the college.

Textual analysis of Q Magazine

"Q" is a music magazine published monthly in the UK, which is also distributed in the USA and Australia. Its publisher is Bauer Company. It has been published since 1986.

In this task I'm going to analyse the front cover of the August 2008 issue. The main photo presents Duffy and Paul Weller. It looks professional, so I assume it was taken in a studio. It is a medium shot; we can see the characters are framed from the hips up. Both of them stand naturally. Duffy wears a blue shirt and Paul has got a black shirt and a striped suit on. The clothes are informal and I think it connotes the expression of Duffy's music - peaceful, relaxing, light.

As we can see from the main headline, this issue is focused on duets. Inside are four different interviews with musicians who work in duets. What is interesting, they made four different covers (one for each duo), so the reader can choose which one to buy. In my opinion is a very good idea. The interviews are already a unique thing, but the additional covers make this issue very personal for the buyer.

Colours used for this layout are common for "Q" magazine - white, black and sort of brownie-gold colour. The Masthead presents the letter "Q" on the red-background square. This particular use of colours and the well balanced arrangements make the cover looks serious and sophisticated, as if the magazine is aimed at the mature audience, which is actually true, because its founders Mark Ellen and David Hepworth felt that the music press of their time was ignoring a generation of older music buyers. So they created higher-standard music magazine, which at that time stood out among other music magazines.

On the right from the masthead is the small photo of "The Ting Tings". The main headline has got a font size twice and even three times bigger than the rest of the cover's text. That is what draws our attention to it. What is more the main photograph blocks out a little bit of the masthead, it is because the brand is well known for its buyers and it allows editors to expand the text more over the space of the cover, without causing any complication.

Examples of different magazines

Here are the examples of magazines in which people in my age (16+) may be interested.

“Teen Vogue” as we can assume from its name, is a magazine aimed at teenagers. The magazine focuses on fashion and celebrities, but also offers information about the latest stories on current issues and events. Because of that, the audience is mostly female.

“Teen Vogue” has been published monthly since March, 2003. It is published in the USA, by Conde Nast Publication.

On the front cover we can see the photograph of Mischa Barton. It is a medium close-up and it has been taken outdoors by a professional photographer. It is a fashion photo, but it is focused on the featured person – Mischa Barton. I think if comparing covers of “Teen Vogue” and “Vogue”, we’d notice that some of the “Vogue” covers may be focused only on fashion and there could be no article straight related to the cover model. While “Teen Vogue” always includes a celebrity on the cover and make the main article based around this celebrity.

The masthead is built of two words: teen and vogue. The word "teen" is orange and is written in a sanserif font. So it looks fresh, young and modern. While the word "vogue' is pink and is written in a serif font, so it is more posh and classy. As well as in the "Vogue", the colours of Teen Vogue masthead change with every issue. They are chosen just to cooperate with the particular cover colour arrangements.

The first thing which draws our attention is model's face.t The masthead, the main headline and the other headlines build up around the face creating the combined piece.

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"Top Gear" is an automobile magazine published by BBC Worldwide, and named after the BBC's Top Gear television show. It has been published since 1993. Licensed editions are also published in China. the Czech Republic, Greece, Indonesia, Russia, New Zealand, India, Romania, Poland, Bulgaria and many other countries. The magazine includes information about cars : test drives, new technologies, but there are also interviews with celebrities or columns by Jeremy Clarckson and James May.

In this issue the masthead is orange and it is spread through the all witdth of the magazine. The main hedline is "New Lambo". The colour of masthead change with every issue. The main headline reads "New Lambo" and it's white with broad black edges. The sub-headlines are spread all around the cover and they all relate to the main hadline, so it seems like this issue is focued mostly on Lamborghini cars.

In the middle there is a photo a lamborghini car. The headlines are placed above and below the photo, they all go diagonally. It boosts the feeling of movement, which we may have looking at the photo of the car. The colours of photo are blue, silver and black. It creates the feeling of hi-tech and modern environment.

Textual analysis of "Secondary Teachers Magazine" Front Cover

In this post I am going to analyse the front cover of "Secondary Teachers Magazine". As in the last task, my analysis will be based on the key media concepts.

Language
The front cover is built of the photograph, the masthead, the main title and the inside contest. At the bottom of the cover, on the left there is a logo of the "Department for Children, School and Families". On the right there is the date of issue and the website URL.

The photograph presents a baking tray with two ginger breads on it. The ginger breads are stylised into school pupils (boy and girl), their uniforms (we see ties and badges) are made with icing. Behind the baking try, more in the background, there is a figure of student. I presume it is the student, because she or he is wearing a red shirt and a strapped tie. The student is using baking gloves to hold the tray. So, from just the same photograph we get clues it is the magazine which is involved into school environment. We can infer from the uniforms it is focused on primary or secondary education. This photograph is a good example of connotation. When we look at this front cover, the ginger breads are the first things which draw our attention. Because, they are "wearing" these uniforms, at the very beginning it makes us think the magazine may be related to school society.

The masthead says "Secondary teachers" and the headline says "Cook with me! - How schools can make lessons tasty? ". At the top there are the inside contest titles and one photo is related to one of them. It is the photo of playing school girls. Every element of this cover implies the magazine is intended for teachers.

The layout of the front cover is very clear and simple, it makes it easy to read and pick up the main ideas. The inside layout is very cheerful, there are lots of colourful drawings. It seems like it has been made for children, not for teachers. I personally believe it is made this way to inspire teachers and it is always more enjoyable to read magazine like this :)

Institution

"Secondary Teachers Magazine" is published on behalf of the "Department for Children, School and Families", government based institution.

Ideology

The values which are presented in this magazine are equality for every child, working towards creating better future for pupils, developing secondary education in the UK. The magazine also brings up topics as environment, society and
culture.

Audience

Secondary school teachers from all over the UK.

Representation

Pupils, teachers, people known to public, people involved into organisations which co-operate with the "Department for Children, Schools and Family"

Preliminary exercise

Producing a College Magazine Front Page and Contest Page


The preliminary task, which I was given with is to create the front page and the contest page of a new college newspaper. It needs to feature a photograph of a student in medium close-up plus some appropriately laid-out text and a masthead.


At the beginning of the exercise we were discussing how the newspaper should look like and analysing what should be included in it. The analysis was based on the key media concepts: Language, Ideology, Institution, Audience and Representation. The first letters spell LIIAR


Language

How is the magazine going to look like? Everything what is going to be put on the first page must be suitable for the target audience: masthead, headline, sub-headline, text, colours schemes, photograph, fonts, layout and arrangement.

Institution

Who produces this magazine?
It will be produced by Wyke College, school for 16 - 19 year old, situated in the western part of Hull.

Ideology

What values will be presented in the magazine?
The values which are important for the wyke society : equality, freedom, achievement. The main story will refer to these values.

Audience

The audience will be the college students, aged 16 to 19, from different social group, citizens of East Riding.

Representation

What people will be presented in the magazine? How they will be portrayed?
The magazine will show some of the students, as well as some of the members of the college staff.